Can I write MAT - CBT exam at my home or will they provide a center for this exam?

For MAT CBT, candidates will be allotted a test centre in the city they shall have selected as preference in the, MAT application form. Candidates can appear for MAT from home in only IBT mode. MAT CBT is held in the followimg cities: Agra, Ahmedabad, Asansol, Bareilly, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Delhi, Ernakulam - Kochi, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Hubballi (Hubli), Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Madurai, Meerut, Mumbai, Mysuru (Mysore), Nashik, Noida, Patna, Pune, Raipur, Ranchi, Rourkela, Shillong, Shimla, Silchar, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Vellore and Vijayawada

What are MAT eligibility criteria?

Since MAT is an entrance exam for post graduate level management courses, the minimum eligibility criteria for MAT exam is graduation. Candidate should have completed graduation in full-time or part-time mode in Arts, Commerce or Science from a recognised university. The eligibility criteria for MAT PBT, CBT and IBT are the same. Final year graduation students who will be giving their final exam or awaiting results are also eligible to appear in MAT. There is no minimum score requirement in MAT. Candidates need to have passing marks in graduation.

Can I apply in more than 5 colleges with MAT score?

Yes, you can apply for more than 5 colleges with MAT score. The limit of 5 MBA colleges is only for the MAT application form. If any candidate wishes to apply for more colleges, they can do so by filling the application forms of those colleges separately. The MAT cut offs, will be different for different colleges, so candidates must check it before applying.

MAT Eligibility Criteria 2026: Age Limit, Qualifying Criteria, Number of Attempts

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Vipra Shrivastava

Senior Manager - Content

Updated on Feb 7, 2026 17:20 IST

MAT Eligibility Criteria 2026 includes academic qualification, age limit, and qualifying marks. Check here eligibility criteria for MAT exam. MAT 2026 registrations for February phase is underway at the AIMA MAT website. Candidates who plan to appear for MAT 2026 must check below detailed MAT eligibility criteria.

MAT eligibility criteria is graduation. However, before filling up the MAT application form, you must know the academic requirement as per your course. Know here the details of MAT eligibility criteria 2026 as prescribed by the AIMA.

MAT exam eligibility criteria is a set of academic requirements that MBA aspirants need to fulfil to be eligible to take the entrance test. The basic eligibility criteria for MAT is graduation. There is no minimum requirement of 50% in Bachelors degree. Candidates with passing marks can apply for MAT. However, since AICTE guidelines for MBA eligibility is minimum 50% in graduation (45% for Reserved categories), it is necessary to score as much marks to be able to pursue full-time MBA degree courrse.

The MAT exam is conducted four times a year – February, May, September and December. MAT score is accepted by over 800 B-schools across the country for admission to MBA/PGDM courses. Those who plan to take the MAT 2026 exam, must check the eligibility criteria before applying. Candidates can take MAT exam in Computer-Based Test (CBT) or Paper-Based Test (PBT) or both. Eligibility criteria for both exam modes are same. There is no limit on the number of attempts for taking the exam. The scores of latest MAT attempt will be taken into consideration for MBA admission. MAT February 2026 registration process is ongoing and the exam will be held on March 1 (PBT), March 8 (CBT).

Also Read: MAT 2026 application form and registration process

MAT Eligibility Criteria 2025

All India Management Association (AIMA) the MAT conducting agency, prescribes the eligibility criteria. Check details below:

MAT Exam Eligibility: Academic Qualification

Candidates must have completed bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised Institute or University.
Candidates appearing in the final year examination or awaiting result for Bachelor's degree are also eligible to appear for MAT 2025.

MAT Eligibility Criteria: Age Limit

There is no age limit to appear for MAT exam. However, since the academic qualification is graduation, the age of candidates is usually 20 and above.

MAT Criteria: Work Experience

Work experience is not a mandatory eligibility criteria for MAT. However, it carries extra weightage in selection process of MBA colleges accepting MAT score.

MAT Eligibility Criteria for Participating Institutes

As per the general MAT eligibility criteria fixed by the participating institutes, candidates should have a bachelor's degree and a valid MAT score. Some of the B-schools specify eligible marks for the qualifying degree examination of 50 per cent aggregate for General category and 45 per cent aggregate for Reserved category.

Also Read: MBA colleges accepting MAT scores

Commonly asked questions

Q: Can I appear for MAT from home?

Yes, candidates can appear for MAT exam from home. For that, they need to opt for the Internet Based Test or IBT mode option in the MAT application form. In IBT mode, candidates can appear for the test from home or any location by using a laptop or desktop with a functional webcam and internet connection. Given below are some guidelines for MAT IBT: The candidates must have a stable internet connection with proper speed throughout the exam duration A proxy for this is if they can login into their email accounts without difficulty. Upload Speed: Minimum speed should be 512 kbps Browser to use are: Chrome version 63 and above and Firefox version 52 and above Operating system to use are: WindowsOS (Version7 and above) Dot NETframework: MSB requires dot net framework. The minimum supported version is 4.5.1. NETframework Memory: 65MB permanent free space on the default hard drive.

Q: Do IIMs accept MAT score?

No, IIMs do not accept MAT score for MBA Admission. They only accept CAT score for admission to their MBA/PGP programmes. However, MAT score is accepted by over 700 MBA colleges in India including: Amity University GL Bajaj Institute of Management & Research Christ University GITAM Institute of Management JIMS Rohini Jain University Taxila Business School, Jaipur SRM University Birla Institute of Management Technology Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Tezpur University Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India IIFM Bhopal YMCA.

Q: For how long is MAT score valid?

MAT score is valid for admission for the same academic year in which the candidate has taken the exam. For example, MAT 2025 score will be valid for admission for 2025-2026 MBA batch only. If a candidate wishes to drop a year after taking the MAT exam, then they will have to appear for the exam once again next year. They should however check the eligibility or selection criteria to have a clarity of MAT score of which session/phase is valid for admission in which academic year. For example, for 2025 academic session MAT September and MAT December scores will be valid for admission to some MBA colleges who have the admission cycle of January-February. Whereas, colleges who conduct admission in March-May accept MAT February exam scores for admission. To simplify, MAT test takers must not try to use their score for admission more than one year after appearing for it. They should appear for it again and use the latest score for admission.

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MAT Exam Eligibility: Reservation Criteria

MAT or AIMA does not prescribe Reservation criteria for the entrance exam. The Reservation Policy is followed for MBA admission through MAT as specified by the participating colleges as per the Reservation Policy of the Government of India. Certain percentages of seats are reserved under quota.

MAT Reservation Criteria for SC/ST/OBC/EWS candidates

Candidates belonging to the Reserved categories are eligible for admission in to MBA programme as per the quota percentage given below. Such candidates will have to submit at the time of admission, respective caste/tribe certificate issued by the Government of India to get a seat through Reservation Policy.

Category	Seat Quota Percentage
Scheduled Caste (SC)	15%
Scheduled Tribe (ST)	7.5%
Other Backward Classes, Non-Creamy layer (NC-OBC)	27%
Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)	10%

MAT Reservation Criteria for PwD candidates

As per the RPwD Act 2016, 5 per cent seats are reserved for PwD candidates in educational institutions.

The categories of disability are:

Blindness and low vision
Deaf and hard of hearing
Locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy, cured dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy.
Autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness
Multiple disabilities from amongst persons under one to four
Other ‘specified disabilities’ mentioned in ‘The Schedule’ of the RPwD Act 2016

Check MAT Cut offs and predict calls from colleges accepting MAT score for admission. Check Fees, Placement Reviews, Admission, Shortlist Criteria and Eligibility of all MAT participating colleges by clicking the link below:

Predict MAT Admission Calls

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About the Author

Vipra Shrivastava

Senior Manager - Content

Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8

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